1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to sign stands and in particular to portable sign stands which can be erected and used during the course of a work day and thereafter disassembled for storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Roadway signage is required to provide warnings for pedestrians and motorists that a work site is in operation. A growing need has arisen for signage which can be stored in a work vehicle and employed on demand, as required. Such signage may be used, for example, by emergency work crews, to set up a safety perimeter around a work area. In addition, many regularly scheduled jobs continually move along a roadway requiring the signage to be relocated along with progress of the work crews. A variety of collapsible sign stands have been provided for this purpose. Such sign stands have typically included rigid elongated members of light weight metallic channels and tubes fastened together to form an upright and a number of collapsible ground-contacting legs to support the upright in a vertical position. Over the years, advances have been made to adapt some sign assemblies to form a single elongated package, suitable for economical storage in a work vehicle.
One challenge to light weight roadway signage is the ability of the signage to withstand wind loads caused by atmospheric and vehicular sources. Temporary signage of the type contemplated by the present invention is usually provided in as lightweight a form as possible, given the requirements that the signage be quickly and easily erected on demand, and subsequently disassembled and stored during the course of the same workday. With relatively large sign panels mounted atop the upright or mast unusually high wind loads may cause the sign stand to tip over, and efforts are made to increase the stability of lightweight portable sign stand bases.